


The Green Of The Vine

by TheFoolsYouSee



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, I am overjoyed to find there is an existing Puddles tag, Making Out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:53:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27062962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFoolsYouSee/pseuds/TheFoolsYouSee
Summary: Emira Blight always has a snarky comment to mask her feelings. But a girl she meets in the woods seems able to see right through her, which is doubly awkward when the girl is a very pretty one.
Relationships: Emira Blight/Viney
Comments: 18
Kudos: 177





	The Green Of The Vine

Small flying creatures twittered from somewhere in the branches above the quiet forest path. Normally any travellers making their way along it would be keeping a wary eye out for anything that looked hungry enough to be a threat, which often included fellow travellers. However the girl walking along under the gentle afternoon sun had her eyes lowered and her hands firmly stuffed into the pockets of her shorts, lost in thought. She’d recently been walking at a faster, more agitated pace, but the excess frustration that had surged through her normally poised exterior during the argument had now burned itself off. She was now ambling along, her thick emerald-green braid no longer swaying as she walked, as if slowing her pace would make time itself slow with her and extend the minutes before she’d have to go back home.

It wasn’t often that Emira was alone like this; she and her twin brother spent most of their waking hours at each other’s side, poking fun at the world and at each other. But when the pair had been confronted about once again skipping their classes Edric had kept quiet and let their father go on berating them, and something about her sibling’s docile behaviour had made Emira even angrier. She’d left him behind when she’d stormed out of the manor, although now had no-one to voice her churning thoughts to. _You’ve got to act like a Blight_ , their father’s voice repeated in her head and she scowled to herself. Why did _he_ get to decide how a Blight acted?

A noise brought her out of her contemplation and she suddenly remembered the story of the Growlfiend, the six-legged monster who ate little girls who kept their parents awake all night. But the source of the rustling sound had been another Hexside student coming out from a bush. She was one of the growing number of pupils Emira had started to see wearing the colours of multiple tracks; her leggings were the orange hue of the Beast Keepers, and her sleeves were Healing-Track-blue, a slightly darker shade than the cyan Illusion-Track uniform Emira would wear. She was holding a small basket filled with mushrooms, and looked like she’d been gathering them since school had finished that day.

The girl raised the basket with a friendly smile. ‘You out picking Goblin’s Toes too?’

‘Nah, just walking,’ Emira replied.

‘You’re missing out. There’s fresh patches all around here, and they make a great antibiotic. Or a soup, if you’re careful.’

‘You often eat things you find lying on the ground?’

‘Only the tasty ones.’

Emira laughed, more easily than she’d expected. The other, brown-haired girl grinned at the reaction and looked her up and down a little, seeming to read something in her.

‘You okay?’ she asked. ‘You look kinda tense.’

‘Yeah, I guess I am,’ Emira admitted. ‘Had a rough day.’

‘You need someone to talk to?’

Emira noticed the kind look in the girl’s olive-green eyes as she brushed her bangs out of them with a finger. She also noticed the large fish-hook pierced through her right ear and the barbed hairband that was holding her bun in place. But mostly Emira noticed how very pretty she was.

‘No, it’s okay,’ she replied quickly. ‘Good luck with your soup.’

‘Thanks,’ the girl smiled again, and they walked past each other.

Anger flared in Emira’s stomach again, but this time aimed at herself. Why had she suddenly wanted to get out of there so badly, only to immediately regret leaving? She considered turning and trying to continue the conversation with the attractive stranger, but every line she could think of made her sound eager and weird. She bit her lip to stop herself from groaning out loud with frustration. Maybe she’d spot her again at school.

‘Hey!’

Emira span around towards the voice; the girl was now some way off the path, and had turned back to face her.

‘Let me show you something,’ she said, before walking off into the trees.

Emira hurried to follow, slowing to a casual walk just as she reached the other witchling, who turned to her with a pleased look.

‘I’m Viney,’ she said.

‘Hi, I’m Emira.’

‘Let me guess, Emira Blight? You guys are pretty distinctive.’

Emira fluttered her lashes over her golden eyes. ‘I don’t know whatever you could mean.’

Viney snorted with laughter, and Emira felt the unrefined sound wash every bit of negative energy from her body.

They came across a leaf-covered clearing with a wooden hut stood in the middle; it had a large cavity in the front with no door, like it was more of a shelter. A griffin was lying in the opening, resting its head on its crossed talons, and it looked up curiously at the sound of the girls’ feet rustling the leaves as they approached.

‘Hey Puddles!’ Viney called out, and the griffin jumped to its feet. Emira froze where she was as the intimidatingly large creature dashed over to them excitedly, its two mismatched pairs of legs bounding heavily along the ground scattering the leaves. But Viney dropped her basket of mushrooms and rushed forward too, stumbling back as the griffin reached her and aggressively nuzzled her.

‘Oh, you think you’re the boss now, do you?’ she asked, raising an eyebrow. She wrapped her arms around its feathery neck and tried to pull it down to the floor, and Puddles pulled back against her with a determined squawk.

Viney lifted her feet off the ground, pulling with her whole body weight. ‘ _I can still take you!_ ’ she strained. But the griffin swung her on its throat and then fell sideways to the ground, slamming its neck down on top of her.

The defeated girl gave a winded laugh as she slapped her hand on its head. ‘Okay, okay, you win!’ she gasped. Puddles stood again and trotted back to the hut as Viney got to her feet. She brushed the leaves off her rear and glanced over at Emira, who had kept well away from the roughhousing.

‘It’s okay, she’s harmless,’ Viney assured the nervous-looking witchling, although winced a little and brought a hand to a rib as she walked over.

‘Yeah, but she’s… big,’ Emira commented. Puddles wasn’t actually a very large griffin, not like the huge ones that ruled the skies and could swallow a witchling whole. But she was still taller than either of the girls, and Emira took a step back as she returned holding a wiry brush in her beak. She dropped it at their feet and sat down on her haunches expectantly. Viney picked up the brush, squatted down and started running it through the brown fur that started below the griffin's neck, which was covered in grey feathers. Puddles raised her head high to expose her chest fully and squinted with satisfaction.

‘I’ve looked after her since she was a chick,’ Viney explained as she continued brushing. ‘Sometimes we both forget how big she’s gotten.’ She looked up at Emira, who was still keeping her distance, and reached a hand out to her. ‘Come on, touch her,’ she encouraged.

Emira looked from the formidable creature to the girl’s hand, and took hold of the one she was least nervous of. Viney pulled her closer, and the green-haired girl looked up at the griffin’s face uncertainly.

Puddles glanced over at her and frowned. She lowered her head to the witchling's face, and the white bulbous cere on her squat beak twitched at the girl's scent. Emira felt a burst of hot breath snort over her cheeks, but stood her ground. Puddle’s brow unfurrowed and she gave Emira's face an approving nudge with her beak, before turning to idly look around at the clearing. Emira slowly raised a hand and started stroking it over the beast's plumage; the feathers felt coarse against her fingers, but were warm. She looked down and saw Viney grinning again at her more relaxed appearance, and realised she was still clutching the other girl’s hand tightly. She quickly dropped it with an awkward smile.

‘Do you keep her out here?’ she asked.

‘I don’t keep her anywhere,’ Viney replied proudly. ‘She’s her own bird. But she can’t go long without her scritches, can you girl?'

Still brushing with one hand, she reached up with the other and scratched a spot on Puddles’ neck between her feathers, which made her tilt her head happily and purr.

‘She got too big for us about a year ago,’ the squatting witchling continued. ‘She wouldn’t even fit through the front door, and it takes a lot of meat to feed a growing griffin. Luckily she was able to start hunting for herself by then, and when I found this hut I knew it was time to let her leave the nest.’

As Viney gazed up tenderly at the beast’s content face, Emira suddenly noticed the other girl’s worn, frayed cowl held together at the front with a peg, the tears in her sleeves and leggings, and the way her tunic was tied in a bunch on her hip to hide the fact that it was too big for her. She suddenly felt self-conscious of her own pristine, tailored clothes, but when Viney looked back over she didn’t look anything other than cheerful. She stopped grooming and held the brush out to Emira.

The taller witchling paused before taking it from her, and Viney stood and walked around to her other side. She gave Puddles a poke in her flank, and the griffin lifted her haunches compliantly and stood.

Seeing her still hesitate, Viney put her hand on top of Emira’s over the brush handle, and the Blight twin tensed again at her touch. The palm resting on the back of her hand was a little rougher than her own carefully moisturised skin, but she didn’t make any moves to pull away, letting her hand be guided to move the brush down the griffin’s fur. The feel of the bristles parsing through the knots on the rising and falling flank until they slid smoothly down was quite relaxing.

‘You were right, this is nice,’ she admitted.

‘Animal therapy’s the best thing about combining my tracks,’ Viney said, still moving Emira’s hand for her. ‘Although before that, I tried bringing Puddles into Hexside to help me with my Healing classes, and that didn’t go so great.’

‘Oh I heard about that, was that you?’ Emira asked, surprised. ‘You were used as a bad example, you know.’

Viney nodded with a chuckle. The fingers of her other hand began to play over the back of Emira's braid, who glanced up from the patch of fur to the other girl’s face. She felt herself start to blush and looked away again, tugging her hand out from under Viney's to continue brushing on her own and trying to ignore the pounding of her heart.

‘I had no idea I was being led into the woods by such a troublemaker.’

‘Yeah, you were,’ Viney replied. ‘Wanna make out?’

Emira fumbled the brush and dropped it. She quickly bent down to pick it up, but when she stood her arms remained at her sides. She forced herself to look at the other girl, who was calmly waiting for a reply as she absent-mindedly stroked Puddles’ fur.

‘You really don't hide it when you're attracted to someone do you?’ she said, laughing a little to try and hide her embarrassment.

‘No, I don't,’ Viney replied simply. ‘It’s fine if you don’t want to. But I get the feeling that you do.’

‘I didn’t say anything,’ Emira retorted, trying to sound the right level of indignant that couldn’t be taken as confirmation either way. She absolutely did want to kiss her, but she couldn’t just SAY that.

‘Not with your words,' Viney said pointedly. 'But I want to know for sure.’

Emira shook her head exasperatedly. She tried to think of a jokey comment that would put the pressure off her and get the slightly shorter witchling to make the next move. Why couldn’t the other girl just kiss _her_ so she could let it happen and then still have the power to say something sarcastic afterwards? Right now she felt on the back foot, and didn’t know how to manoeuvre off it without giving up the opportunity being presented to her.

She gestured to the beast in front of them. ‘I mean, your friend’s _right_ _here_.’

As if on cue, Puddles started wandering away now that she noticed her grooming session was over. She lifted her head up and chirped at a furry rodent in the trees, squatting down ready to pounce. She leapt up and swiped at it, and the rodent scampered away across the branches. Puddles ran after it on the ground, jumping up to swipe again a couple of times. After watching her disappear into the woods, Viney turned back to her betrayed-looking companion.

‘So?’ she asked.

Emira scoffed and folded her arms, but didn’t say anything. The curious, amused look the other witchling was giving her made her feel very vulnerable.

‘You can’t admit it, can you?’ Viney chuckled.

Emira felt herself blush further and stuffed her hands into her pockets again. ‘I mean, if _you_ wanted to…’

Viney considered, then shook her head, clearly taking some pleasure in the discomfort she was causing. ‘No. You have to say that you want to as well.’

Emira let out an infuriated sigh, but still couldn’t bring herself to force the words out. After a moment of silence, Viney shrugged.

‘Okay,’ she said with a smile. ‘Then I’d better get home. I’ll see you around school.’

Emira watched the other girl start to walk out of the clearing, desperately running through scenarios in her head in which she could regain the upper hand, but they all fell flat before Viney’s apparently unflappable confidence. There was nothing else for it.

‘C-Can we make out, please?’ she asked, immediately cringing at her words. She’d never said anything so humiliating in her life.

But Viney had stopped, and turned with a gratified look in her eye that made frustration rise in Emira once again.

‘Sure,’ the brown-haired witchling said happily, and walked back over.

She stood in front of Emira, who fumed as she realised that she still had to make the first move. Unable to bring herself to fully initiate things, she lifted a finger under the shorter girl’s chin and tilted it upwards. Viney let the movement raise the rest of her body up, stretching onto her toes.

The first few kisses were gentle, sweet. Then they opened their mouths and the tips of their tongues met, timidly to begin with, teasing around each other before more boldly exploring the tastes and textures of each other’s mouths. Emira closed her lips over Viney’s outstretched tongue as she pulled back, before tilting her head to the other side and going back for more. Viney started gently gnawing on the taller girl’s bottom lip, scraping her teeth over the soft flesh. Emira’s hot annoyance had melted away into a warm glow that now enveloped her. She opened her eyes briefly as she tilted her head back the other way and her heart leapt as she recognised the same glow in Viney’s face.

‘ _Hey Em, where are you?_ ’

Emira’s irritation suddenly returned at the sound of the boy’s voice coming through the trees. He _would_ have followed her after she’d deliberately gone out to be alone. But she didn’t stop kissing Viney; too much of her dignity had been sacrificed for her to let go now.

‘ _Dad says if you don’t come back then you’re not getting –_ oh hey, who’s your friend?’

Emira brought her hand to the other girl’s cheek, holding her firmly in place, but Viney didn’t make any moves to pull away either.

‘Well, problem solved I guess,' Edric's voice continued. 'Looks like you’ve already got dinner sorted.’

As they continued to kiss each other, Emira felt Viney’s arm lift in unison with hers and they both raised their middle fingers in the direction of the voice. Emira heard her brother give an offended scoff and tramp away on the leaf-strewn ground.

Both girls let out a short laugh against each other’s mouths, and Viney put both her hands on Emira’s face. Emira put her own hands on the other girl’s back, holding her just as securely.

‘See?’ Viney said between kisses. ‘You’re not - so shy - after all.’

‘I’m only – shy around – pretty girls,’ Emira replied.

Viney snorted with laughter at the cheesy line, and the splutter erupted inside Emira’s mouth. They had to break apart and Emira wiped her mouth as they both giggled. Viney took a breath and picked up her basket of mushrooms, before leaning up again to give Emira one last peck on the lips.

‘I’ll see you around, Blight,’ she whispered, and turned to walk out of the clearing. Emira was left grinning stupidly.

‘Call me!’ she yelled after her.

‘You’d better get out of here!’ Viney replied, turning her head back as she walked away. ‘Puddles’ll eat anything if I’m not there to stop her!’

Emira watched the other girl vanish among the trees before she sauntered off in the other direction, whistling to herself.

* * *

Amity sat at the desk in her room, focusing on her textbook. She was a few chapters ahead of where they’d gotten to in class, but wanted to make sure she was prepared for any surprise questions that might come up. Becoming the top student had been achievement enough at first, but staying there was just as much of a challenge. She had to commit a lot of her free time to study and practise, unlike _some_ people she could-

‘I wonder how Dad found out we’d been cutting class.’

The studious girl’s eyes darted over to the open door where the voice had come from. Her elder sister was leaning against the frame, an impenetrable look on her face.

‘You shouldn’t have done it,’ Amity replied.

Emira raised an eyebrow. ‘Maybe not, but that didn’t mean you had to tell on us.’

The younger Blight tensed as the elder stood up straight and walked over. She’d heard her sister come in during dinner and go straight up to her room, knowing that there wouldn’t be a plate laid out for her on the dining table.

‘The servants would probably make something for you if you asked,’ she said nervously.

Emira shook her head. ‘I did ask. And if you hadn’t told Dad, then I wouldn’t have gone out in the first place.’

Amity gulped as her sister reached her. But then the older girl bent over and planted a quick kiss on the top of her head, making her frown.

‘What was that for?'

‘Nothing,’ Emira replied as she walked out of the room, leaving Amity to stare after her, confused.


End file.
